Today we are immensely grateful to welcome Strand of Oaks aka Tim Showalter to the ever-expanding Dead Oceans family. We’ve followed Tim closely and then were blown away by his live show when he toured with DOC artists Tallest Man On Earth and Matthew Houck aka Phosphorescent and also Damien Jurado from our sister label Secretly Canadian in the last two years. Now, we’re excited to announce Tim’s new record HEAL will be out on Dead Oceans June 24th.

On previous Strand of Oaks albums Tim displayed his knack for moving and dark folk and now on HEAL we see growth and change into an immersive sound with loud, punching guitar riffs and synth-heavy hooks akin to his recent touring show. Showalter says “I’m inspired by bands that go the distance, to a dangerous place…there’s an uncertainty to ‘HEAL’ that makes me nervous and excited at the same time. It’s sad, but it sounds like a celebration, like I’m crying and laughing and sticking both middle fingers in the air all at the same time.”

Preview the new album with the track “Goshen ’97″ above, an ode to his hometown of Goshen, Indiana and first finding music in his parent’s basement. Listen to the track, which premiered yesterday on World Cafe, on our YouTube / Soundcloud and it features Tim dueling guitars with rock god J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr..